28 February 2006

These last few weeks I've been working in California. Newport Beach to be more precise. The thing about this area is that it is very appearance-oriented. Lots of beautiful people and so forth.

In walking back from the mall for lunch the other day, my friend Tim made an interesting comment that I thought was insightful and humorous...and perhaps a little sad. Basically, is that when you are young and single and looking around at members of the opposite sex, you tend to focus on the body. Then as you get older you realize how important the face is and you focus more on it. The idea is that as you mature, you realize that bodies will change over time, but you'll have to keep looking into that same face for the rest of your life!

The funny thing was, I thought through just about every conversation I'd had the past week and realized how right he was. If you know Tim it doesn't take long to realize that he is definitely beyond his years, but this was one more proof.

And before you jump to conclusions, yes, I made the transition. More or less. ;-)

27 February 2006

Does anyone else resent how the Port of Seattle continues to screw people?

Apart from the fact that it is one of the most expensive airports in the country, which by itself is just outrageous considering it gets federal money and so can't produce profits, how do they get away with just sticking it to the little guy without any fanfare?

Recently, they quietly added a little sign to the car rental counters which essentially say that they are going to collect $4 PER DAY from every car rental to pay for a new offsite car rental structure. Argh! Firstly, these off-site structures are horrendous! It turns a few minute task into a half-hour or more ordeal involving over-crowded shuttles, endless walking, and interminable queuing. They just consolidated these activities at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix and the results are disasterous to frequent travelers. Secondly, $230 million dollars! Just to further inconvenience travelers? What?

Okay, so I disagree with the whole consolidation thing to start with. Fine. Getting in and out of Phoenix which used to be a lovely experience is now a nightmare of wasted time and inconvenience. I can accept that. But then to find out that the Port of Seattle is going to charge me $4 PER DAY so they can build this monstrosity which might save someone a few pennies and turn my car rental experience into a hellish schlep-fest of agony, that's just too much! If they want to save money, do it on their own dime. Don't make me PAY to create a new process which will increase my pain, suffering, and inconvenience.

Lastly, I challenge anyone to find information about these fees, the new structure, any of this online. I'm pretty handy with the net and I couldn't find anything. The only reason I know about it at all? Because a rental got screwed up and while waiting at the counter I read all the signs, including the itsy-bitsy sign which gives the high-level details, but nothing more. The web address included for more information? portseattle.org. What garbage.

So maybe I'm just getting worked up. Is there some hidden benefit I'm not seeing here? There certainly has been none that I'm able to testify about after experiencing this change in Phoenix. Perhaps I need to setup a website and start getting people riled up about this.

Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day. - Timothy

You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget. - Jessica

This next one is legit and it's along the same lines.

Leo Buscaglia once talked about a caring child he came across. The four year old had a next door neighbor who was an elderly gentleman that had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, "Nothing, I just helped him cry".

The very next morning, my sister Mindy got me up at oh dark thirty and we went for a hike with our cousin Cassie on Thunderbird Mountain. It was a pretty solid hike and the sunrise was just outrageous. Makes me think about all the trekking my family did growing up.

Later I went to the Cheesecake Factory with an old friend of mine that has been gracious enough to keep up with me over the years. She has a wonderful family and it was good to connect with them again.

In the evening, my newphews and cousins went bowling. Darius and CJ had never really played DDR before but they started to get the hang of it. My cousin Thomas is just a trip. He's a great kid and very much like my own son when it comes to Constant Motion. You can check out those pictures here.

My grandmother passed away. The family came together for the memorial and the service. It was beautiful and I even got to hear my brother sing! Oh how I wish it didn't take such a loss to see my family together.

In one sense these pictures are to pay respect to her passing and our loss. In other way, they help showcase the amazing legacy left behind by a God-fearing woman. There is nothing more breathe-taking than when a believer changes the lives of those around her. My grandma did that. Look at the pictures and see for yourself.

Sony Pictures is releasing The Second Chance, a new movie from writer/director Steve Taylor starring Michael W. Smith and jeff obafemi carr. It opens this Friday, February 17, 2006 in 35 cities nationwide.

In the movie, a white church in a wealthy suburb discovers that its "outreach" to an inner-city black congregation is creating resentment and distrust. This is the story of how a rebellious son and a street-smart pastor attempt to bridge the gap between their churches and their cultures.

See the trailer at thesecondchancemovie.com. You can also find a list of theaters and showtimes. There is going to be one near you.

12 February 2006

Tonight's episode of Grey's Anatomy was very excellent. George continues to be so the man, and Izzy had on glasses. We all know I am such a sucker for glasses!

Yes it was a great episode but it was made even more great because I was able to trade text messages during the show with two of my good friends who were watching it at the same time. And because they chose The Weepies for some of this episodes key background music. Now I've only heard them a few times before and had forgotten about them. But I had not forgotten about Deb Talan who is half of this talented duo. I encourage you to check them out.

11 February 2006

The Shaimus show at Club Good Hurt was very excellent. There was quite a crowd with lots of energy. They were able to announce another show at the Roxy which is a pretty notable venue.

Afterwards we were able to hang out and enjoy some fun times together. Josh and I had to catch a cab back from the club because we ran out of designated drivers. This was pretty cool because it gave us some good one-on-one time to catch up which we haven't had for a while. Later I'll post some cool pics.

Today at the beach was outstanding. We played Frisbee (oh my sakes, it has been too long!) and some football and just enjoyed the wonderful weather and company. It was a good day.

09 February 2006

You might have noticed the cool little events box over there on the right just below the rotating pictures. This cool little list is pulled from my account with Upcoming.org, yet another of the very excellent Yahoo! companies.

Is it just me or is Yahoo! totally under-appreciated these days? They have some of the most useful, customer-friendly, and valuable services of any company out there. I just dig those guys. They are what I think Google wishes they could be. Of course, that could be just my own twisted reality.

Check out the Upcoming.org service when you get a chance. A good example of how to deliver a customer-focused application without a lot of fluff. Good stuff.

08 February 2006

In researching a new online project, I came across last.fm and was pretty impressed with their service approach. They have an interesting idea, have executed it well and seem to be keeping their focus on the customer. Check it out!

You can find my profile at http://www.last.fm/user/tempusfugate/ if you want to add me as a friend.